In the silence before her free skate at the 2021 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Bradie Tennell knelt into her starting position and reminded herself to breathe.
The day before, she broke her personal short program record for the third consecutive year, giving her a narrow three-point lead in a highly competitive Championship ladies division. But in the stillness, four minutes before she'd finish the performance that would result in her second U.S. title, Tennell felt ready.
"In the past, it's been a challenge for me to get into a confident mindset before I compete," Tennell, 22Â , said. "This time, when I stepped on the ice, I knew I was prepared, so I felt excited to get out there and show everyone what I've been working on." Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
While Tennell crafted her technical reputation with consistent, powerful triple-triple combinations when she won her first U.S. Championship in 2018, intently working on artistry with choreographer Benoit Richaud has boosted her performance quality. She now thinks of hitting the accents in her music "like another element."
"Interpretation, performance and execution are an integral part of my everyday training," Tennell said. As the program develops throughout the season, she adds choreographic movements to emphasize the large crescendos and smaller subtleties in her music.Â
There was a specific moment, toward the middle of her free skate, when Tennell leans into a camel spin. When "lighting strikes" in her music, her arms lock behind her back, perfectly in time.
"It's like putting a painting together," Tennell said. "You add a layer, and you wait. Then you add another layer, and you have to let it dry."
As Tennell's free skate program progresses, her music intensifies, gearing her up for some of the most difficult elements of the program — including her dreaded second Lutz-combo. But once she hit the triple Lutz-triple toe, she didn't flinch. Instead, a smooth smile glided across her faces as she paraded down the ice and landed a second double Axel, right on cue.
"I was halfway through my step sequence and all I could think was, 'Stop crying, Bradie! You're not done yet!'" Tennell said.
It wasn't until Tennell hit her final pose that her unadulterated pride shone through a beaming grin — shortly followed by a couple tears.
"In a moment like that, I'm just trying to memorize how it feels to have skated that program at nationals," Tennell said. "I try to absorb all of the emotion because that's the feeing I work so hard for every day."
Sitting in a socially distanced kiss-and-cry, Tennell's sparkling face covering didn't mask her emotion. Her scores were announced, accumulatively 232.61 points, and her hands covered her mouth in attempt to contain her pure joy. Tennell had won her second U.S. Championships with 17 points over Amber Glenn, who captured silver.
"I could live in that memory forever," Tennell said, noting how special it felt to have her mom cheering her on from the virtual display behind her. "I was so incredibly happy and proud, and I found myself really wishing [my coach] Tom Zakrajsek was sitting next to me, because he helped me reach this ending."
After the gold medal, career-altering performance, Tennell was asked if this was the ending she has expected. She laughed and replied, "Nope!" Despite all the change — moving to Colorado, skating with a cardboard audience, and learning how to do triples with a mask — Tennell attributes last weekend's success to gratitude.
"I was just so thankful we were able to compete at all, it felt like I had nothing to lose," the Skokie Valley native said. "To have achieved this in a year where everything is so strange — it just reinforces that I don't know what I'm capable of unless I go out there and give it my all."
Since then, Tennell admitted she's gone back and watched the program, studying every edge and choreographic flair. As the skating world nears the end of the "quad," Tennell will have to prepare for what she hopes to be her second Olympic season — but she isn't setting goals for next season just yet. Plans for the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2021 in Stockholm are in limbo, and until a decision is made, Tennell will prepare.
"No matter what happens, I'll be trained and ready," Tennell said. "Then, I'll reassess after Worlds and see what happens from there. I like to live in the moment, so for now, I just look forward to the day when our fans and my Team USA teammates can safely be together."
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